Can you set up a security web cam in 30 seconds? You can now. My last interview at this DEMOfall was one I vowed to do the moment I saw this company's pitch on stage. This was music to my ears. I love it when a startup takes on a previously complex, daunting technical task for consumers, and just makes it dead simple. Let me tell you about GoToCamera, from Pechora Technologies in Singapore. These guys homed in on one of those nasty problems, setting up a web cam, and developed what appears to be an elegant, low-cost solution that consumers (and businesses) will happily pay for. 
Surveys show people want the security of monitoring their homes, businesses, children, or their yards or vacation homes — but few can set it up themselves, or afford expensive security monitoring services. And get this: GoToCamera's basic service (one cam) is actually free! GoToCamera does't sell cams — it lets you use any you have lying around, in your existing computers or laptops, maybe old ones you aren't even using anymore. By running their software, that cam can start recording video as soon as it detects motion. Or, you use any of the newer, inexpensive USB cams on the market (Logitech or many others) for as little as $25, and you're in business. The secret, of course, is in the software. This is a startup that could hit a home run. Time will tell, but they have a ready market out there, a smart team, a well-designed solution, a great looking web site, and investors who have seed-funded them. Now, it's off to the races! I can't wait to sign up myself (they even have a special discount code: "DEMO2010"). In the photo: Varun Arora, left, CEO and cofounder, and Li Yi, CTO and cofounder.
Tag: security
Tuesday’s first panel looked at what individuals can do about online security versus government. Didn’t really get an answer to that, except for a rambling question (comment?) from the audience at the end, by David Kirkpatrick of Fortune, which began with him saying, “If consumers are in charge of security, we’re in big trouble.” A few comments earlier by panelist Stratton Sclavos of Verisign were interesting, however. “Our biggest worry is, in the race, can we stay ahead? The cleverness continues.” He also said, shockingly, that security issues on the ‘Net are getting to the point that Versign has “to overprovision our infrastructure by 150 times” to defend against it. Moderator Esther Dyson asked, “Did you say 150x, not 150%?” (The answer was yes, 150x.) “And it’s a big, big burden.” Want another shocking stat? “Our .com registrations have soared recently from 4 or 5 thousand a week to 7 million a week,” Sclavos said — just from all the interest in “monetizing search traffic.” The question then became, how many of these are legitimate vs. potential security problems. Sclavos basically returned the question, asking “What is ‘legitimate’ use? How do we decide?”
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